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Fintech

Whether you are developing, procuring, or investing in, financial technology we understand the opportunities and challenges you face. Our Fintech Group supports clients across the full Fintech spectrum: clients range from established financial institutions and global technology and telecoms companies, to investors and start-ups with the potential to act as market disrupters.

We regularly advise on the interplay between developments in the fields of technology, data exploitation and financial regulation. We recognise that businesses can have very different approaches and appetite to risk depending on where they sit in the Fintech sector. We acknowledge this in our advisory approach, and will tailor our input to meet your individual needs and requirements.

We have been advising our Fintech clients in multiple jurisdictions on a broad range of topics, including:

payment services, electronic and mobile money services and the developing regulatory environment for those services, including deterrence and detection of financial crime

technology licensing, development and procurement

app design, development and licensing

data protection, Big Data and information security

cloud strategies

HR and employment issues, including around contractor and employee engagement terms

tax planning and structuring, including for the European operations of non-EEA groups establishing a first footprint in Europe

anti-trust, merger control and other competition/regulation issues

exits, including IPOs

At its heart, meaningful involvement in Fintech often demands a re-basing and re-appraisal of your commercial and regulatory risk approach in the context of a fast-paced and changing development environment. We have been advising clients in this way for many years.

Partner Contacts

Vodafone on several mobile payment matters, including its arrangements with Wirecard for the provision of electronic money services, the provision of a banded physical and electronic payment card, the development of a secure electronic wallet application for handsets and the provision of associated back-end payment processing as part of its SmartPass service.

Stripe, Inc., the online payment services provider, in connection with its expansion into the EU. This has included advice on the scope and application of relevant EU regulatory regimes for payments, data and e-commerce; on product development matters; and on distribution arrangements and partner collaborations.

Sage, the UK business software and e-money institution, on the EU e-money regime, including in relation to online accounting and payroll services.

Handelsbanken UK, the mortgage and loans bank, on an ongoing basis in connection with a range of innovative financial services projects, including online/mobile banking facilities.

American Express, on a range of assignments relating to card-based electronic payment activity, and including the development and launch of the first UK electronic traveller’s cheque.

Fast Forward

The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Fintech 2018

The Co-Heads of our Fintech group, Rob Sumroy and Ben Kingsley, are the Contributing Editors of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Fintech 2018, a practical cross-border insight into Fintech law across 44 jurisdictions. Slaughter and May contributed chapters on Artificial Intelligence in Fintech and Fintech in the UK and Hong Kong. This article first appeared in the first edition of the ICLG to: Fintech, published by Global Legal Group.